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5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) modulates various defense systems in plants and confers abiotic stress tolerance. Enhancement of crop production is a challenge due to numerous abiotic stresses such as, salinity, drought, temperature, heavy metals, and UV. Plants often face one or more abiotic stresses in their life cycle because of the challenging growing environment which results in reduction of growth and yield. Diverse studies have been conducted to discern suitable mitigation strategies to enhance crop production by minimizing abiotic stress. Exogenous application of different plant growth regulators is a well-renowned approach to ameliorate adverse effects of abiotic stresses on crop plants. Among the numerous plant growth regulators, 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a novel plant growth regulator, also well-known to alleviate the injurious effects of abiotic stresses in plants. ALA enhances abiotic stress tolerance as well as growth and yield by regulating photosynthetic and antioxidant machineries and nutrient uptake in plants. However, the regulatory roles of ALA in plants under different stresses have not been studied and assembled systematically. Also, ALA-mediated abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms have not been fully elucidated yet. Therefore, this review discusses the role of ALA in crop growth enhancement as well as its ameliorative role in abiotic stress mitigation and also discusses the ALA-mediated abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms and its limitation and future promises for sustainable crop production.

The present study goal is to identify assorted factors and also to investigate their influence on tourists’ behavioural intentions about their usage patterns with respect to M-wallet payment. A conceptual model has been anticipated and authenticated and 600 questionnaires were distributed and 482 were usable. Structural equation modelling was employed to assess research hypotheses. The result shows that the behavioural intention is significantly influenced by perceived value, trust, compatibility and social influence while tourists’ is less optimistic when it comes to use M-wallet with regard to perceived enjoyment. The study also showed that trust followed by compatibility has a more powerful influence on the behavioural intention of tourists in the context of M-payment. The present study is limited to only six M-wallet and that too limited to the certain age category, namely 18–25 in Gwalior city of India. Understanding the different dimensions of behavioural intentions can help M-wallet players to win the trust of tourists and enhance the frequency to use M-wallet for M-payment. The results indicate that M-wallet service providers should consider and manage all affecting factors proactively as mechanisms for intention to use M-wallet. It will establish a behavioural intention model of M-wallet users that can help organizations to manage the formation of behavioural intentions of their users.

Mitigating climate change via initiatives such as reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and renewable energy (RE) generation helps in reducing environmental pollution, increasing efficiency, and saving costs in the energy industry. Bangladesh recently formulated some policies and initiatives for reducing GHG emissions that have been increasing at an alarming rate lately, which are driven largely by economic growth, energy security, and local environmental concerns. However, little is known about the impacts of the existing policies and initiatives on curbing GHG emissions and promoting environmental sustainability, especially from the agriculture and energy sectors that contribute 44% and 39% to the country’s net emissions, respectively. This study, therefore, reviews the extent of GHG emissions in the country and analyzes the country’s key policies and initiatives for mitigating climate change and promoting environmental sustainability. The key finding is that despite the existence of a national energy policy and initiatives such as RE development, rational and efficient use of energy, Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, clean development mechanism, international and private sector collaboration, GHG emissions are projected to continue to grow at high rates due to population growth, industrialization, energy consumption growth that outpace government initiatives to reduce emission levels. The paper concludes that good governance, behavioral transformation, and public awareness about climate change are vital steps for reducing GHG emissions and promoting environmental sustainability.

The transport sector is the fastest growing greenhouse gas-emitting sector in the world and it is also a major source of emissions in New Zealand. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from road transport increased by 84.3% between 1990 and 2016. This increase in GHG emissions was the highest among the different energy sub-sectors of New Zealand. Increasing energy consumption and GHG emissions are due to the gradual increase in population, car-dependent low-density development, lack of integrated public transport networks, inappropriate policy interventions and so on. These factors are making it difficult to reduce emissions from this sector. This study investigates (i) major drivers of transport sector emissions, including how drivers differ from those affecting other developed countries; (ii) a mitigation policy roadmap to achieve future emissions reduction targets; and (iii) mitigation policy initiatives by the government, and policy gaps. To identify the key drivers from a set of drivers, this study uses a vector error correction model (VECM). The Granger causality test reveals that the fuel economy of the New Zealand passenger vehicle fleet has a significant causal relationship with transport emissions. Introduction of a number of policies such as a feebate scheme and/or a high minimum fuel economy standard could effectively alter this causal relationship in the short term, along with other measures such as urban planning changes for medium-term impact. This study aims to help policy makers identify the most tractable factors driving transport emissions and alternative policy options suitable for emissions mitigation.

There is a growing focus on the role of renewable energy (RE) policies such as feed-in tariffs (FITs), renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), subsidies, incentives, and research and development in the global energy policy mix and in promoting environmental sustainability. Although most developed countries have well-formulated RE policies, in developing countries, such policies face many barriers. This study analyzes the policies, drivers, and barriers to RE deployment for fostering environmental sustainability in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. In the GCC region, the need for economic diversification to reduce dependency on single resource, diminishing hydrocarbon reserve, loss of oil export revenue, climate change mitigation pledges, and abundant solar energy resource are the key drivers for diversifying energy sources to include RE. However, the apparent lack of consolidated policy framework for wide-scale RE utilization calls for a well-articulated policy to advance RE development in each member state. Although FIT and RPS approaches could be effective for initial deployment of small-scale RE projects, a competitive tendering and auctioning mechanisms are more suitable for large-scale projects. Whereas, developing effective energy codes could successfully promote RE deployment, the increased share of RE in energy supply would have synergistic impacts on the region. The GHG emissions avoidance expected to be achieved by the GCC countries will vary between 5 and 247 million tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030. The fulfillment of inspirational RE targets for 2030 would contribute in fulfilling climate change mitigation pledges, environmental sustainability, economic growth, and generating new jobs.

This research investigated the determinant factors of store choice. The study is an effort to understand the current positions of the organized exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) among shoppers in select cities of Madhya Pradesh (MP), India. In this view, the researcher approached shoppers of select EBOs and then identified the positions and effect of identified attributes on store choice. A total of 480 participants were approached, among which 328 respondents completely filled the questionnaire. This exploratory study used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) before the psychometric test (i.e., reliability and validity) of the instrument. Further, the multidimensional perceptual maps show the pictorial positions of the eight ready-to-wear EBOs operating in MP, the central Indian market. Further, it also revealed those attributes which shoppers perceived as important with respect to store selection. It found that organized retail stores must lay emphasis on customer service, promotion, physical aspects, return policies, assortment of merchandise, physical comforts, convenience facilities, perceived risk and purchase volume. The contribution of this study is that the outcomes are extremely useful to store managers and strategy makers in understanding the Indian retail market and tailoring their marketing tactics.

Assuring public participation in different stages of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is essential since the success of a project largely depends on its type, nature, and process. Before starting a development project in Bangladesh, both government organizations (GOs) and non-government organizations (NGOs) need to conduct an EIA. However, in most of the governmental projects, there is still no significant influence of public participation in EIA. Contrarily, under NGO administered projects, the systematic participation in EIA is quite unknown and often goes without being acknowledged. This paper, thus, studies public participation practice in EIA through an investigation of two NGO governed projects (i.e., BRAC's fisheries and sericulture project and CARE's integrated food for work program) and compares with two projects by GOs (i.e., Rampal coal-based thermal power plant project and Jamuna multipurpose bridge project) to critically understand the prevailing differences. As well, pivotal factors responsible for differentiated nature and type of public participation being practiced within a certain institutional context are examined. The study indicates that NGOs tend to ensure participation of the pertinent stakeholders at different stages of an EIA while harnessing their inputs to successfully complete a project. By contrast, public participation in government's run projects is mostly found to be carried out towards the end of an EIA exercise, which severely limits the stakeholders' ability to contribute and questions the legitimacy of such attempt. This process of neglect systematically overlooks stakeholders' concerns, critics, and suggestions while pre-emptive motive of the project gets glorified and implemented. By tapping these voids, this study attempts to offer an insightful understanding of the gap between conventional ‘practice’ and formal ‘pledge’ when comes to ensuring public participation in various stages of EIA. This study expects to benefit other countries where NGOs are considerably involved in development projects.

Purpose: Store positioning of domestic organized apparel retail stores has become a concern to retailers in view of FDI in retail, entrance of new giant retailers and growing competition among retailers. Therefore, this study makes an attempt to identify the predictors of intention to purchase (ITP). Besides this, the study aims to examine and identify the current positions of select stores and causal relationships among store attributes (SAs), product attributes (PAs) and ITP. Research Design: Mixed method approach and exploratory cum descriptive research design is adopted. A self-administered questionnaire was administered to 600 shoppers; they were approached after completion of their shopping from the select stores. Statistical techniques like exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, perceptual mapping and structural equation modelling were employed using MS Excel, SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0 versions. Further, reliability and validity tests were also performed. Findings: The findings of the study indicate that on the whole, SAs as well as PAs had a positive effect on ITP. The findings are discussed in light of what retailers can do to enhance the intention of shoppers to purchase. Originality/Value: It will provide practical implications to organized apparel retailers for the betterment of the shoppers and growth of stores.

This study endeavours to validate and develop a scale for organized apparel retail stores, as there is a need to develop and validate a modified instrument. Primary data have been collected from selected organized apparel retailers. Statistical tools, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM), were applied. It revealed that Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) model in original form is deficient and less appropriate in the Indian context, modified scale (i.e., Apparel Store Service & Product Quality Scale [ASSPQS]) may exhibit strong model fit for apparel retail sector. The findings and recommendations will enable retail stores to gather insights into current levels of service and product quality and may facilitate them in the improvement of certain aspects in service and product quality of the stores.

Socio-economic variables including gross domestic product, population, and energy and electricity production are used in modeling and forecasting national energy demands of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The proposed model features: (i) the nonlinear component of energy demand (removal of linear trend), (ii) application of double exponential smoothing method for input data projection, and (iii) genetic algorithm-based artificial neural network (ANN) models. The proposed neuro-genetic model performed very well for the three selected countries. The coefficient of determination and Willmott's index of agreement for the training and testing dataset are quite high whereas the mean absolute error, mean absolute percentage error and root mean squared error are quite low. The acceptable agreements between the observed energy consumption and the model predictions revealed its viability for the study of energy demand in the three selected member states of the energy exporting regional alliance Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 1208–1216, 2017

The world is experiencing a tremendous growth in transportation sector which is also prevalent in Saudi Arabia. This phenomenon results in an increasing demand for fossil fuel for both national and international transportation. This study presents the (i) analysis of the historical fossil fuel energy consumption trend, (ii) forecasted energy consumption using double exponential smoothing method, (iii) study of estimated and projected emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG), (iv) factors influencing GHG emissions, (v) potential mitigation measures, and (vi) mitigation initiatives to reduce GHG emissions from the road transportation sector of the Kingdom. This study revealed that the per capita fuel consumption in Saudi Arabia is increasing at higher rates in recent years compared to some other neighboring countries along with the consistent increase in number of cars and population growth. As a result, the domestic fuel consumption is growing significantly and the growth dynamics of GHG emissions is becoming quite challenging for planning, development, and implementation of appropriate mitigation measures. An integrated national effort with strong commitments from all the stakeholders is a strategic imperative for the Kingdom to ensure its rapid development and successful implementation of commendable national policy for reducing the emission of GHG, particularly from the road transportation sector. Success of the Kingdom’s efforts to manage GHG emissions from the road transportation sector while maintaining its ambitious development stride and commitments to a stable global energy supply demands increased and comprehensive focus on vehicle efficiency, environment friendly fuels, and management of growing travel demand considering the specific socio-economic characteristics.

Floods account for substantial economic losses to a country by causing damage to agriculture, households, livelihoods, infrastructures and so on. Development of an accurate predictive model with locally observable factors for indicating early warning of a monsoon river flood could help to minimize losses. Such a model should be readily available and accessible by people and local agencies. In this study, six well-known machine learning algorithms and regression models, including Decision Tree, Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Logistic Regression, and LASSO have been compared in terms of accuracy of flood prediction. Hydro-meteorological observed data of associated station of Manikganj in Bangladesh, have been fed into this model to learn how to predict monsoon flooding as instructed by the algorithm on which the respective model has been built upon. Each model has been trained with one set of water level time series data of associated station, but models for all the stations share the same set of spatio-temporal rainfall data, observed from a common station. ANN and SVM have a reputation for delivering good performance for many applications and LASSO was found to be appropriate according to a previous study. However, the results of this study indicate that the model based on Naive Bayes is best suited for monsoon river flood prediction.

Even though the contribution of the aviation sector to the global economy is very notable, it also has an adverse impact on climate change. Improvements have been made in different areas (i.e., technology, sustainable aviation fuel, and design) to mitigate these adverse effects. However, the rate of improvement is small compared to the increase in the demand for air transportation. Hence, greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation sector are steadily increasing and this trend is expected to continue unless adequately addressed. In this context, this study examined the following: (i) the factors that affect the growth of aviation, (ii) trends in greenhouse gas emissions in the sector, (iii) trends in energy demand, (iv) mitigation pathways of emissions, (v) mitigation challenges for the International Civil Aviation Organization, (vi) achievements in mitigating emissions, (vii) barriers against mitigating emissions, and (viii) approaches of overcoming barriers against emissions mitigation. This study finds that continued research and development efforts targeting aircraft fuel burn efficiency are crucial in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Although biofuels are promising for the reduction of aviation emissions, techniques to reduce NOx emissions could enhance large-scale deployment. Pragmatic market-based mechanisms, such as the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and/or carbon tax must be enforced on a global scale to capitalize on a collective stakeholder effort to curb CO2 emissions. The findings of this study will help in understanding the emissions and energy consumption scenarios, which will provide a comprehensive package of mitigation pathways to overcome future emissions reduction challenges in the aviation sector.

An experiment was carried out to assess the genetic diversity of advanced rice (Oryza sativa L.) breeding lines using three SSR markers viz., RM147, RM167 and RM215. Thirty T- aman advanced breeding lines at F9 generation along with 4 check varieties were assessed. All three primers showed polymorphism. A total of 29 alleles were detected among the rice genotypes with an average of 9.67 alleles per locus. Polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.47 to 0.88 with an average of 0.71. A dendrogram was constructed based on total microsatellite polymorphism and 34 genotypes were grouped into four major clusters at 0.36 similarity co-efficient differentiating the early maturing genotypes from the late maturing types. The information about the genetic diversity might be utilized in future breeding programs for developing rice varieties with much shorter growth duration. The results also suggested that microsatellite markers which are linked to genes or QTLs responsible for growth duration properties are suitable tools for marker assisted selection (MAS) to select the rice genotypes of shorter growth duration.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 12(2): 307-311, December 2014

The largest contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the energy sector. More than 90% of the total GHG is emitted from this sector. The rapid rise of population, high rate of urbanization, rapid economic growth, and low energy cost increase the demand for energy. The consistently increasing trend of energy consumption and GHG emissions pose a challenge for the country. This study has (i) investigated the major sources of energy consumption and GHG emissions, (ii) analyzed the growth pattern of the source categories, (iii) forecasted the GHG emissions under the business-as-usual and the reformed scenarios, (iv) synthesized widely varied initiatives of the UAE in GHG emission mitigation, (v) highlighted the challenges in deploying renewable energy resources, and (vi) discussed on the possible GHG mitigation approaches. The findings of this study will contribute in preparing national GHG emissions inventory, investigating the dynamics of national GHG emissions with particular reference to the energy sector, developing possible future energy outlook scenarios, and selecting appropriate policy measures to mitigate GHG emissions.

In New Zealand, the average age of a light vehicle in 2018 was 14.09 years. Despite having an old light vehicle fleet, no study has been conducted so far to calculate the per-kilometre cost of ownership (PCO) for old used cars. Therefore, this study attempts to identify the PCO of a new and a used light duty EV and light duty petrol-powered car over a 12-year period. The emissions reduction potential of EVs is also investigated. Findings are that the PCO for a used EV is the lowest (25.5 NZ cents) followed by the PCO for a used petrol-powered car (31.5 NZ cents). Most importantly, replacing a light petrol-powered ICEV by a light EV can reduce GHG emissions at the user level by 90% if New Zealand could maintain its low emission grid electricity. The findings have policy implications for countries that are considering rapid emissions reduction through EVs.

Climate change mitigation in rapidly growing developing countries is receiving increased global attention, especially after the 2016 Paris Agreement. In Bangladesh, the government has initiated some climate change policies to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the last decade. However, the rate of emissions has been increasing recently, which questions the emissions reduction potential of these policies. Therefore, this study has utilized relevant indicators to evaluate the extent to which the policies are mitigating climate change, and of their synergy with national development goals. The findings indicate that the policies have limited impacts on energy decarbonization, energy demand management, and emissions sink improvement. Although policies on renewable energy, energy efficiency and demand management, and afforestation are aligned with national development goals, the policies on electricity generation from coal and forest biomass have little synergy with the goals. By quantitatively evaluating the effects of its climate change policies in enhancing socioeconomic, and environmental benefits, this study can assist Bangladesh’s policymakers to understand the impact of the policies on climate change mitigation and their level of integration with national development goals. Also, other developing countries can adopt the study methodology to evaluate their climate change policies and track their progress.

In the abstract, the statement “The GHG emissions avoidance expected to be achieved by the GCC countries will vary between 5 and 247 million tons of CO equivalent by 2030.”

We study primary pulse transmission in a two-dimensional granular network composed of two ordered chains that are nonlinearly coupled through Hertzian interactions. Impulsive excitation is applied to one of the chains (designated as ‘excited chain’), and the resulting transmitted primary pulses in both chains are considered, especially in the non-directly excited chain (the ‘absorbing chain’). A new type of mixed nonlinear solitary pulses–shear waves is predicted for this system, leading to primary pulse equi-partition between chains. An analytical reduced model for primary pulse transmission is derived to study the strongly nonlinear acoustics in the small-amplitude approximation. The model is re-scalable with energy and parameter-free, and is asymptotically solved by extending the one-dimensional nonlinear mapping technique of Starosvetsky (2012). The resulting nonlinear maps governing the amplitudes of the mixed-type waves accurately capture the primary pulse propagation in this system and predict the first occurrence of energy equipartition in the network. To confirm, in part, the theoretical results we experimentally test a series of two-dimensional granular networks, and prove the occurrence of strong energy exchanges leading to eventual pulse equi-partition between the excited and absorbing chains, provided that the number of beads is sufficiently large.

This paper presents a review of the available literature covering the latest module aspects of different photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors and their performances in terms of electrical as well as thermal output. The review covers detailed description of flat-plate and concentrating PV/T systems, using liquid or air as the working fluid, numerical model analysis, experimental work and qualitative evaluation of thermal and electrical output. Also an in-depth review on the performance parameters such as, optimum mass flow rate, PV/T dimensions, air channel geometry is presented in this study. Based on the thorough review, it is clear that PV/T modules are very promising devices and there exists lot of scope to further improve their performances. Appropriate recommendations are made which will aid PV/T systems to improve their efficiency and reducing their cost, making them more competitive in the present market.

The Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) was planned in 1962 as a goods service linking five important work areas of the city. Subsequently, it was upgraded for commuter use as well. Pakistan Railways now wish to upgrade and expand the circular railway and double-track those parts of it that are single track. However, for this to be done about 20,000 households living in informal settlements along the railway tracks will have to be evicted and relocated. The residents of the informal settlements have organized themselves as part of the All Pakistan Alliance for Katchi Abadis (APAKA), and their local chapter is known as the Network of Railway Colonies. Two Karachi NGOs, the Orangi Pilot Project—Research and Training Institute (OPP—RTI) and the Urban Resource Centre (URC), have been instrumental in supporting the Network of Railway Colonies and other community organizations in surveying the “encroachments” (both formal and informal) along the railway tracks and in documenting the histories of the different settlements. This documentation has strengthened the negotiating power of the railway land informal settlements, whose communities have also made a number of proposals for changes and alternatives to the government’s scheme.

The aim of this study was to detect the sensitivity and specificity of rapid syphilis diagnostic tests (immunochromatographic strip [ICS] test and rapid test device [RTD]) performed by low-skilled paramedics in field clinics and by highly-skilled technologists in laboratories and compare them with the gold standard (rapid plasma reagin [RPR] and Treponema pallidum haemagglutination [TPHA]) tests for diagnosis of syphilis. A cross-sectional study was conducted among female sex workers (FSWs) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from August 2004 to July 2005. Blood specimens were tested for syphilis using (i) ICS, (ii) RTD, (iii) RPR tests performed by low-skilled paramedics; and (i) ICS, (ii) RTD, (iii) RPR and (iv) TPHA tests by highly-skilled technologists. The sensitivity and specificity of the ICS and RTD test performed by low- and highly-skilled personnel were compared with the gold standard. A total of 684 FSWs were enrolled and the prevalence of syphilis among FSWs was 20.8% as determined by the gold standard. There was no significant difference in the performance of ICS test done by paramedics in the field when compared with the gold standard performed by highly-skilled technologists in the laboratory (sensitivity, 94.45%; specificity, 92.6%). The ICS test could fulfil the need for a non-invasive, rapid screening test for syphilis.

This paper describes the financing mechanisms for the sanitation programme supported by the Orangi Pilot Project's Research and Training Institute (OPP—RTI) in informal settlements in Karachi and other urban centres in Pakistan. These centre on OPP—RTI support for the inhabitants of a lane to plan, implement and finance the “internal components” — sanitary latrines in the houses, underground sewers in the lanes and neighbourhood collector sewers — and support for local governments to finance the larger “external” trunk sewers into which the neighbourhood sewers feed and also treatment plants. The inhabitants have to raise all the funding to cover the costs of the internal components and in around 300 locations in Pakistan, communities have financed, managed and built their own internal sanitation systems. Local governments can also afford to install the external systems as they no longer have to fund the internal components, and as OPP—RTI has helped them develop much lower-cost methods for planning and building trunk sewers.

This paper describes the work of the Pakistan NGO, Orangi Pilot Project-Research and Training Institute (OPP-RTI), in supporting improved provision for sanitation and other services in Orangi and other informal settlements in Karachi, and in other cities and smaller urban centres in Pakistan. It also describes an OPP-RTI programme to map and survey informal settlements in Karachi, and the youth training programme that supported this, and also the support for OPP-RTI partners in mapping in other urban centres. Improving infrastructure and services, and house upgrading in informal settlements, has been hampered by a lack of maps showing plot boundaries and existing infrastructure. Documenting and mapping these informal settlements has a number of important repercussions for urban policy, planning and infrastructure investment, as it demonstrates people’s involvement and investment in development. As a result, planning agencies and local governments have realized the need to support this work, rather than ignoring or duplicating it, and this has had important implications on how infrastructure is planned, financed and managed. As the paper describes, this includes greatly reducing or removing the need for international loans to finance such investments.

WHY HAS 50 years of development cooperation failed to address the needs of much of the population in lowand middle-income nations? Among the many competing explanations, one of the most plausible for urban areas is the failure of most development initiatives to consult and work with “the urban poor” in devising locally appropriate solutions – even though these people’s “needs” are the justification for the development initiatives and for all the agencies that fund them, and even though most international agencies claim to support “participation” and to be “pro-poor”. The discussions on how to meet the Millennium Development Goals present a new opportunity to address this. But to date, there is not much evidence that this basic limitation in development is recognized – let alone addressed. This issue of Environment and Urbanization is on how to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in urban areas – both in the locations where those with unmet needs are concentrated (including individual “slums” and squatter settlements) and at a city-wide scale. There are hundreds of millions of urban dwellers whose unmet needs for water, sanitation, health care, schools will have to be addressed if the MDG targets are to be achieved (see Box 1 for a summary of these targets). These needs will not be met without changes in local governments and in other local organizations. Unlike most discussions on meeting the MDGs, the main focus here is not on large increases in aid or on debt relief or national poverty reduction strategies but, rather, on the local changes on which the achievement of most of the MDGs depend. Local government agencies, or the local offices of higher levels of government, determine whether citizens’ rights are protected and citizen entitlements are met. Their rules and procedures determine whether urban poor households can send their children to school and can afford to keep them there; whether they can obtain treatment when ill or injured; whether they are connected to water, sanitation and drainage networks; whether their neighbourhoods have street lights and electricity; whether they can build legally on suitable sites; whether they can avoid eviction; whether they can vote and have access to politicians and civil servants; whether they are protected from violence and crime (and corruption) by a just rule of law; whether they can set up a small enterprise and get a loan to help them do so; whether they can influence development projects. The performance of local schools, health care centres and water and sanitation providers determine whether many of the MDG targets are met

Over 20 years the Orangi Pilot Project has been working to understand the problems of Orangi, a district of Karachi largely characterised by high-density informal settlement, and enable its residents to develop and implement solutions. Sanitation was identified as the major problem and a sewerage system was built. From this work was developed the “internal-external” concept for sanitation, which has 4 levels: sanitary latrines in houses; underground sewer in lane; neighbourhood collector sewer; and trunk sewer and treatment plant. The first three components are “internal” and can be undertaken by low-income communities; the “external” fourth component has to be funded and carried out by government or similar agency. Successful and unsuccessful attempts elsewhere to replicate this model have both confirmed the effectiveness and practicality of such community-based action and shown the – largely organisational – pitfalls that must be avoided.

India is the third largest market after China & Japan in Asia in respect of retail market and this market plays a major role in Indian economy.. From 1996 till date, the present government has taken several decisions with reference to FDI in retail sector. According to the policy framework by the Indian government, with respect to retail sector foreign retailers will be allowed to hold 51 percent stake in multi brand and 100 percent in single brand formats. Many giant players in retail such like Walmart, Tesco are expected to enter in India very soon. India is slightly different from other developed countries. The present paper attempts to analyse FDI issues in the Indian retail industry. The findings of the study about FDI in retail would undoubtedly uncover the future opportunities for FDI in retail sector and thus enable the country to boost up the economy. INTRODUCTION Retail has played a major role in any country’s economy as it is one of the largest employment generators and fastest growing sectors. Many developed and developing countries such like China, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore and Thailand have allowed 100% FDI in multi brand retail. China permitted FDI in retail in 1992 and no effect on small traders although they co-exist with improvement in services. Indonesia where 90% of the business still remains in the hands of small traders. India is having various forms of foreign investment, among them FDI flows are usually preferred over other forms of external finance. FDI provides a win-win situation to both the home and host countries. The home countries want to take the advantage of expanded new market for growth of industrialization. On the other hand host countries want foreign capital for enhancement of infrastructure, technical and managerial skills. Other advantages associated with Foreign Direct Investment are economic development, rise in purchasing power & growing consumerism. Till May 2012, the total FDI equity inflows in the single brand retail trade were Rs 204.07 crore. Due to foreign investment, it is possible to have positive effect on economic growth by increase in per capita income leading to more consumption from necessity items to discretionary consumption. It also has few threats as it can lead to promotion of unhealthy competition among organised domestic retailers resulting in exit of small retailers from the market and distortion of urban culture. FDI IN INDIAN RETAIL – A HISTORICAL PERESPECTIVE FDI as defined in Dictionary of Economics (Graham Bannock et.al) is investment in a foreign country through the acquisition of a local company or the establishment there of an operation on a new (Greenfield) site. To put in simple words, FDI refers to capital inflows from abroad that is invested in or to enhance the production capacity of the economy. The foreign investors are free to invest in India, except few sectors/activities, where prior approval from the RBI or Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) would be required. India has taken various decisions with regard to FDI in retail sector since 1995. These are as follows1995, World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services, which includes both wholesale and retailing services, came into effect. 1997, FDI in cash and carry (wholesale) with 100% rights allowed under government approval route. 2006, FDI in cash and carry (wholesale) brought under the automatic route. Up to 51% investment in a single brand retail permitted. 2011, 100% FDI in single brand retail permitted. 2012, 51% FDI in multi-brand retail permitted. CONDITIONALITIES FOR FDI IN RETAIL Indian Govt allowed 51% FDI in multi brand and 100% in single brand in place of the earlier ceiling of49%. FDI is not allowed under the automatic route in all cases as it also requires FIPB approval in many cases decided on case to case basis. 1. Foreign retailer has to invest minimum $100 million. (In case of Multi Brand) 2. 50% of the investment has to be for improving the backend infrastructure. (In case of Multi Brand) 3. 30% of all procured materials have to be procured from the small and medium enterprises. 4. Permission to set retail stores only in cities with a minimum population of 10 lakhs. (In case of Multi Brand Retail) 5. Govt has the first right to procure material from the farmers. MEANING OF RETAIL Retail means sale of goods directly to the consumers or the final users by persons who are link between suppliers & consumers. Walmart, Tesco, Big Bazaar, Westside, Pantaloon are a few examples to quote. SINGLE BRAND RETAIL The foreign investor should be an owner of the brand, retail chains or stores and shall sell products of single brand only across all outlets. FDI IN SINGLE-BRAND RETAIL The Government has not categorically defined the meaning of ―Single Brand anywhere---neither in any of its circulars

Ischemia and reperfusion stun the myocardium and the coronary vasculature. We have previously shown that a short period (15 min) of global ischemia in the isolated rat heart causes impaired coronary constriction in response to a thromboxane analog U46619 during reperfusion. Sepsis has also been shown to affect myocardial and vascular function. In the present study, we determined whether Escherichia coli-induced sepsis would exacerbate the effects of ischemia on the coronary circulation. Sepsis prolonged the impairment in the coronary constriction response to U46619 following short term ischemia. We hypothesized that sepsis-induced increases in nitric oxide (NO) production caused the delay in the recovery of the contractile response to U46619. Perfusion with NO synthase inhibitors however indicated that the impaired response was not due to NO. However, NO did appear to have a significant role in the development of myocardial ischemic contracture and on the recovery of diastolic function after ischemia. Inhibitors of NO synthase also caused a significant increase in basal coronary perfusion pressure as well as in the maximum coronary pressure generated in response to U46619, suggesting a role of NO in regulating basal coronary vascular resistance in the isolated rat heart. Some of these effects were more pronounced in septic rat hearts than in the sham surgical rat hearts, consistent with altered nitric oxide production in the septic rat hearts.

Despite a sharp decline in the incidence of gonococcal infection in developed countries during the last decade gonorrhea remains one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in developing countries and a global health problem. In the absence of effective vaccine control of gonococcal infection mainly depends on identification and treatment of the infected individuals and reductions in sexual risk behavior. Early and successful antibiotic treatment of gonococcal infection is important for cure of the patient prevention of complications and to reduce transmission. Strategies for control of gonorrhea have relied on the use of highly effective and often single-dose therapy administered at the time of diagnosis. Information on antimicrobial susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae is therefore important to guide selection of an appropriate antimicrobial agent. Antimicrobial resistance in gonococci often spreads rapidly between countries and infected travelers often appear for treatment in countries distant from the place of contact. Hence local and regional antimicrobial resistance data are important for management of gonorrhea. Specific data on the incidence of gonorrhea and antimicrobial resistance of N. gonorrhoeae in Nepal is lacking. A pilot study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of current recommendations for treatment for gonorrhea which is a single oral dose of 500 mg ciprofloxacin. (excerpt)

A cross-sectional study was conducted among youth clients of hotel-based female sex workers (YCHBFSWs) in nine randomly selected hotels in Bangladesh to examine sexual-risk behaviour, condom use and determinants of condom use in last sex, knowledge of HIV, sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence and STI care-seeking behaviour. A prestructured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic, behavioural, clinical information; urine specimens (before sex) and blood were collected for diagnosis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis, syphilis and herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV2) infection. One thousand and thirteen participants were enroled in the study. Approximately half of them reported visiting female sex workers (FSWs) at least once a month and 25% visited FSWs at least once a week. Only 12% of participants reported regular condom use. The prevalence of N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis, T. vaginalis, syphilis and HSV2 was 2.2%, 3.9%, 7.2%, 2.6% and 12.9%, respectively. Only 15.3% of the YCHBFSW sought STI care in the past year. Negotiation of condom use with FSWs was the main determinant (odds ratio = 17.95) for condom use at last sex. Male clients of FSWs, including YCHBFSW, are an important bridge population for HIV transmission in Bangladesh and HIV interventions should be designed and implemented for them.

One of the main challenging tasks in the modern design of highly adaptive granular material is in ability to passively control the flow of energy through it by means of trapping, redirection and scattering. In the present work we demonstrate that one of the possible mechanisms to achieve efficient control over the propagating shock wave in the material is the usage of weakly interacting, non-compressed granular lens (granular chains). In the latest computational studies we have demonstrated that the shock waves initially localized on a finite amount of chains may be efficiently redirected to the neighboring granular chains. In this study it is also shown that the amplitude of the shock wave redirected to the neighboring chains may be passively controlled by choosing appropriate parameters of coupling which makes this type of granular structure highly adaptive for the required control of mechanical energy flow. The mechanism for efficient transport of energy from one chain to another are also found. It corresponds to a simple exchange of energy between the weakly interacting granular chains providing equi-partition of Nesterenko solitary waves through the chains. This mechanism of energy transfer and redirection in highly nonlinear granular chains are conceptually new. Analytical and computational studies of all the mechanisms are performed in the present study.

Summary The prevalence of bacterial sexually transmitted infections among clients of female sex workers (FSWs) was studied. A total of 156 condoms were collected from clients of 13 sex workers during three consecutive days. Condoms used by clients of FSWs were collected and DNA was extracted from the seminal fluid and used for the diagnosis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis and Trichomonas vaginalis by polymerase chain reaction. The prevalence of N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis and T. vaginalis among clients of FSWs was 4.5% (7/156), 2.5% (4/156) and 7% (11/156), respectively.

Environmental problems in Pakistan; their origins and development and the threats that they pose to sustainable development examines how environmental problems can be traced back to policies instituted under colonial rule. The paper considers the social and economic changes in recent decades in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, industry and human settlements. It looks at the environmental problems that these changes have caused and considers deficiencies in government policies to address them.

Community Groups and Non-government Organizations in the Urban Field in Pakistan is based on a study of community organizations and NGOs in five cities. The paper outlines the scale and nature of housing problems in urban areas, and the government's failure to address them. A large, informal private sector has become lower-income groups' main source of land for housing, and of water supply, education and health care. Community action groups formed by residents in low-income areas seek to tackle common problems, and provide cheaper and more effective basic services than the private sector. A concluding section discusses how governments and aid agencies might support and expand the effectiveness of community action groups and the NGOs which help them.

The purpose of this study was to study consumer preference towards private and national brand in men's apparel among consumers. Literature review indicates that the current study argues, based on theoretical framework that product attributes dimension have an impact on attitude toward men's apparel in Delhi-NCR. The research design is cross-sectional based on descriptive methodology. The instrument designed for the research study relates to product attributes of men's apparel. Validity and reliability of the instrument is established with appropriate statistical measure of Cronbach's Alpha. Cluster sampling has been used with a sample size of 500 consumers. The mall intercept survey, structured questionnaire was employed to collect the primary data in Delhi NCR. A total of 460 respondents completed and returned useable questionnaires. The findings reveal that factors affecting consumer preferences towards private versus national brand in men's apparel differed significantly and product attributes of men's apparels have significant relationship with brand preferences. Consumers had an overall more positive attitude towards national brand apparel over private label/ brand apparel. Furthermore, the perceived quality of national brand apparel was rated higher than that of private brand. High price, lack of discount/ offers and fashionable apparels are the reasons for not purchasing national brand whereas price consciousness, colour range, discount/ offers are considered for preferring private brand in men's apparel by the consumers.

For 600 million urban dwellers, without government or NGO support, basic services and infrastructure seem out of reach. But some people are taking action: these are the stories of three disparate communities' unorthodox and inspiring approaches to accessing water and sanitation.

OBJECTIVE AND GOAL: The goal of this study was to study the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)/reproductive tract infections (RTIs) among brothel-based sex workers (SWs) in Bangladesh.A cross-sectional study was conducted among SWs in 4 randomly selected brothels. A sociodemographic and behavioral survey and pelvic examination was conducted. Specimens including endocervical swab, high vaginal swab, and blood were collected and were examined for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis, bacterial vaginosis candidiasis, and syphilis.A total of 439 SWs were enrolled and 49.6% had genital symptoms. Among all SWs, 17.5% were positive for N. gonorrhoeae; 15.5% for C. trachomatis; 7.5% for T. vaginalis, and 6.6% had active syphilis. A total of 67.4% SWs were positive for at least 1 cervical and/or vaginal infection.The prevalence of STIs/RTIs among SWs in brothels in Bangladesh is high. An intervention strategy addressing both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections and periodic screening of SWs for RTIs/STIs is essential for successful HIV and STIs prevention programs.

Hearts isolated from 30 rabbits, raised from birth to approximately 5 weeks of age under either hypoxic (FIO2, 0.10) or normoxic (FIO2, 0.21) conditions, underwent retrograde aortic perfusion using a non-recirculating, well-oxygenated crystalloid solution. The left ventricular end diastolic pressure was initially set at approximately 5 mmHg. Aerobic performance was studied by measuring peak systolic pressure (PSP), coronary flow, glucose oxidation, and oxygen consumption. Anaerobic function was assessed by determining time for the onset of contracture (TOC) in the presence of zero coronary flow. Hypoxic vs normoxic hearts (mean+/-SEM): heart rate, 197+/-6 vs 190+/-5 beats per minute; PSP, 136+/-4* vs 108+/-4 mmHg; dP/dt(max), 2294+/-125* vs 1549+/-144 mmHg/sec; relaxation time constant (Tau), 26.9+/-1.1* vs 41.6+/-4.8 msec; (-) dP/dt(max), 1422+/-43* vs 1001+/-63 mmHg/sec; coronary flow, 86.3+/-4.2* vs 59.9+/-2.9 ml/min/g(dry); glucose oxidation, 3511+/-118* vs 2979+/-233 nmol/min/g(dry); oxygen consumption, 28.2+/-1.4* vs 22.7+/-1.4 micromol/min/g(dry); and TOC, 11.8+/-1.2* vs 22.9+/-2.2 min (*p0.05). Hearts isolated from young rabbits, exposed to hypoxia from birth, exhibited enhanced ventricular systolic and diastolic mechanical function, elevated coronary flow, retained capacity for aerobic metabolism, and a shorter TOC compared to their normoxic counterparts.

Most large and successful cities are faced with the problem of dense informal settlements in central locations that need upgrading. In many, this upgrading should also seek to reduce overcrowding (for instance, by increasing the number of storeys so that the amount of indoor space per person increases and the number of persons per room decreases). Most such informal settlements first developed some decades ago and were on the city’s periphery, but with their very large outward growth they now occupy valuable central locations. Dharavi in Mumbai is one obvious example, with around 600,000 inhabitants and a very large concentration of small and medium size enterprises within an area of two square kilometres.(1) There is also the issue that these settlements’ central locations make the land on which they developed valuable and so of interest to commercial developers. So one critical question is can housing conditions be upgraded in these kinds of central city areas without displacing their populations? Despite the global recession much of urban Asia is facing increasing land pressures, making it increasingly difficult for low-income groups to secure affordable housing (or land on which to build) and often leading to evictions or resettlement. Governments often promote or support the replacement of high density informal settlements (what they usually term “slums”) with high-rise solutions, on the grounds that this promotes the image of a modern city, and often because only high-rise apartment construction can achieve high densities while conforming to local building by-laws. Unfortunately, such solutions suit developers far better than they do those who live in the informal settlements, on sites the developers want. Arif Hasan and his colleagues are challenging the emerging consensus that these sites need to be cleared and rebuilt with high-rises, and the developer-led approach this engenders. Their proposals accept the advantages of density but argue that with the right sort of technical assistance even lower-income communities can achieve higher densities incrementally, with more community control and in ways that are more supportive of local livelihoods and lifestyles. This is supported by studies in different areas of Karachi, one of which is Nawalane in Lyari town. An informal settlement that was regularized in 1976, it has since developed from a low-rise community (with most houses having one or two storeys) to one where most housing is now ground-plus-two to ground-plus-four. Acknowledgement: The study was undertaken by Arif Hasan and colleagues at the Urban Research and Design Cell (URDC) at the Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, and was sponsored by IIED and UNFPA.